The European Commission has approved, under the EU
Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition of GBI UK - GB Ingredients Ltd and
BFP Wholesale Ltd -engaged in the yeast business and owned by Gilde B.V, by the
French yeast manufacturer Compagnie des Levures Lesaffre. The Commission's
decision is conditional upon Lesaffre's commitment to divest GBI's yeast
production facility in Felixstowe, UK. The Commission has concluded that the
transaction, as modified by this commitment, would not significantly impede
effective competition in the European Economic Area (EEA) or any substantial
part of it.

Lesaffre is a privately-owned family company, which focuses on three main
business areas: yeast, yeast extracts and bakery ingredients. Lesaffre has
manufacturing facilities in 26 countries, including France and Belgium.

GBI UK consists of a yeast manufacturing business (GBI) and a wholesale
distribution of yeast and bakery ingredients business (BFP) in the UK. Prior to
its acquisition by Lesaffre, GBI UK was controlled by GBI Holding International,
ultimately controlled by Gilde, a Dutch private equity investor.

The transaction was initially notified to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT),
the UK competition authority, as it did not meet the turnover thresholds to fall
within the scope of the EC Merger Regulation. However, the OFT requested the
Commission to examine this concentration pursuant to Article 22 of the Merger
Regulation.

The Commission's initial market investigation found that the notified
transaction raised competition concerns in the UK market for liquid and
compressed yeast. The transaction reduces three competitors down to two in the
UK with respect to both liquid and compressed yeast. Lesaffre and ABF would
remain the only suppliers of yeast in the UK and it is unlikely that other
suppliers would have the ability and incentive to enter the market. To remove
the Commission's concerns, Lesaffre offered to divest GBI's yeast production
facility in Felixstowe, UK. The Commission concluded that such a divestment is
suitable to address the competition concerns initially identified in the market
investigation.